Collection: Purple Barbara, Selected By Richard Zimmerman (online exhibition)

About the exhibition

The works in this exhibition move fluidly between letters, lines, texts, figures, signs, symbols, and a multitude of other forms both abstract and representational. I was drawn to these works primarily for the artists’ use of line, space, and color: the complex compositional color weaving found in the works of Luis Estrada and Karen May; the pared down compositions of Jonathan Valazquez, Carlos Fernandez, Jeremy Burleson, Bubba Trieber, Christian Vassell, and Samantha Kershnar; the responsive works on found images by Sara Malpass and Karen May; the graphic text-based compositions of Luise Estrada, Jonathan Valazquez, Sara Malpass, and Donald Walker. Upon sustained viewing of the works (alone and together), I was struck by the echoing forms and energies that emerged within and between the works in the exhibition.

About the selector

Richard Zimmerman is an interdisciplinary artist whose work spans various media, including sculpture, photography, sound, and drawing. His work explores the intersection of subjectivity and the built environment. He received his MFA in Studio Art from Cornell University and BFA in Painting from Pratt Institute. He was a recipient of the John Hartell Graduate Award, a Cornell Council for the Arts Grant, and a nomination for The Dedalus Foundation Master of Fine Arts Fellowship in Painting and Sculpture. He was recently an artist in residence at Real Time and Space in Oakland, CA. He is currently living and working in Oklahoma as a Tulsa Artist Fellow.